Early morning drone patrols along Sydney’s beaches have become an increasingly vital component of shark surveillance following a series of high-profile attacks in recent months. Among those involved in the daily monitoring is 22-year-old drone operator Taha Kafil-Hussain, who has been conducting flights for Surf Life Saving New South Wales (SLS NSW) for four years and recently began operating at Coogee beach.

Until recently, Coogee had been off-limits for drone surveillance due to its location beneath one of Sydney airport’s main flight paths. However, following a shark attack in June on Sydney teacher and mother Leah Stewart—who lost her left arm in the incident—a state government initiative enabled special permissions to allow drone flights over the popular beach. Stewart described her encounter with a four-metre great white shark as “like fighting a dinosaur,” an attack that has intensified public concern about shark safety.

Since July 1, the New South Wales government has rolled out a $34 million program expanding drone monitoring to 38 ocean beaches around Sydney, including Coogee, as part of a broader coverage of 70 beaches statewide. The surveillance operates from dawn until dusk year-round, with extended hours starting in September to coincide with increasing daylight. The increased efforts aim to reduce risk and improve response times for shark encounters.

Kafil-Hussain’s early morning routine begins around 6:30 a.m., when he sets up equipment and gauges local conditions, including aircraft flight patterns due to airport proximity. His drone ascends up to 60 metres, sweeping the bay in a methodical grid pattern. The goal is to detect any movement that differs from the water’s natural flow, focusing on identifying large marine animals, particularly the “target sharks” known to be involved in serious bites: great whites, tiger sharks, and bull sharks.

Since the program’s launch, SLS NSW has recorded over 750 shark sightings and initiated more than 200 water clearance actions. Acoustic monitoring stations currently track nearly 3,000 tagged sharks, including 1,698 great whites, 938 tiger sharks, and 374 bull sharks.

Experts like University of Sydney shark policy researcher Associate Professor Christopher Pepin-Neff regard drones as the best available technology for shark detection but caution that public education remains crucial. Pepin-Neff notes that factors such as wind, water clarity, or smaller shark size can limit drone effectiveness, and worries that reliance on drones without adequate information campaigns could cause unnecessary alarm among beachgoers.

Pepin-Neff also supports the use of other non-lethal shark mitigation tools such as SMART drum lines and anticipates artificial intelligence integration in drone operations to improve detection accuracy. However, they remain critical of methods like shark nets and culling, stating these approaches have not been proven effective.

Independent drone operator Jason Iggleden, who has conducted beach surveillance since 2018, emphasizes the growing ability to identify sharks through experience. His footage, shared via social media, highlights diverse marine wildlife encounters, from seals to whales, underscoring the ecological complexity beneath the surface. Iggleden collaborates with SLS NSW by forwarding sightings detected during his flights.

While drone surveillance has increased both the detection and public awareness of sharks, experts stress that no single strategy can guarantee safety. Pepin-Neff advises swimmers to adhere to traditional precautions, such as swimming between lifeguard flags, and to respect the ocean’s inherent risks, likening it to a wild environment that demands caution.

As coastal activity intensifies with the approach of summer, expanded surveillance aims to restore public confidence in ocean safety. However, officials and scientists agree that ongoing vigilance, technology development, and community education will remain essential components of shark risk management along Australia’s busiest beaches.